Category Archives: George

The name is an English and Romanian form of the Greek, Georgios Γεωργιος, which is derived from the Greek γεωργος (georgos) meaning, “farmer; earth worker.”

The name was borne by a 4th-century Christian saint and martyr, a Roman soldier of Greek ancestry who refused to sacrifice to pagan gods as demanded by the Roman Emperor at the time. He was popularized in the Western Christian Church after the Crusades, when soldiers brought the story back to Western Europe. The saints’ story was embellished and his story appears in the Golden Legend.

The most famous legend was that during the saint’s life, he managed to rescue a maiden who was about to be sacrificed to a dragon by slaying it with his lance. This legend has been the subject of art for centuries.

Though revered as the patron saint of England, the name itself did not catch on in until the 18th-century, following the accession of George I of England. The name has been borne by several kings throughout Europe. It was also borne by the first president of the United States, George Washington.

In Medieval times, English troops would chant “by George“, as a invocation to the saint to protect them in battle.

Between 1880 and 1937, George remained in the U.S. top 10. As of 2010, he only ranked in as the 164th most popular male name. His rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 1 (Georgi, Bulgaria, 2007)

# 1 (Georgios, Greece, 2010)

# 2 (Giorgi, Georgia, 2011)

# 5 (Yegor, Belarus, 2011)

# 9 (England/Wales, 2010)

# 12 (Yegor, Russia, 2011)

# 16 (Jorge, Spain, 2010)

# 19 (Jiří, Czech Republic, 2010)

# 20 (Romania, 2009)

# 22 (Jordi, Catalonia, 2010)

# 27 (Jure, Slovenia, 2010)

# 42 (Jorge, Chile, 2010)

# 53 (Juraj, Croatia, 2010)

# 69 (Jure, Croatia, 2010)

# 73 (Australia, NSW, 2010)

# 75 (Jurij, Slovenia, 2010)

# 76 (Jørgen, Norway, 2010)

# 78 (Jorge, Mexico, 2010)

# 80 (Joris, Netherlands, 2010)

# 82 (Jordi, Spain, 2010)

# 84 (Jurica, Croatia, 2010)

# 100 (Scotland, 2010)

# 168 (Jorge, United States, 2010)

# 233 (Joris, France, 2009)

# 420 (Jordi, Netherlands, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

Gjergj (Albanian)

Jorgo (Albanian)

Giorgis ጊዮርጊስ (Amharic)

Jurj(us) جرج جرجس (Arabic)

George جورج (Arabic/English/Romanian)

Khodor خضر (Arabic)

Chorche (Aragonese)

Gev(or) Գեվ Գեվոր (Armenian)

Gevorg Գեվորգ (Armenian)

Kevork Գեւորգ (Armenian)

Xurde (Asturian)

Gorka (Basque)

Jury Юры (Belarusian)

Yegor Егор (Belarusian/Russian)

Jord (Breton)

Jorj (Breton)

Georgi Георги (Bulgarian)

Jordi (Catalan)

Juraj (Croatian/Slovak/Slovene)

Jurica (Croatian)

Jure (Croatian/Slovene)

Jiří (Czech)

Jørgen (Danish/Norwegian)

Joris (Dutch/Frisian)

Sjors (Dutch)

Georg (Faroese/Estonian/German/Icelandic/Romansch/Scandinavian)

Jurjen (Frisian)

Jüri (Estonian/Volapuk)

Jørundur (Faroese)

Jokora (Finnish)

Jori (Finnish)

Jyr(k)i (Finnish)

Yrjänä (Finnish)

Yrjö (Finnish)

Georges (French)

Xurxo (Galician)

Giorgi გიორგი (Georgian/Monegasque)

Jörgen (German/Swedish)

Jörg (German/Swedish)

Jürgen (German)

Jürg (German)

Georgios Γεώργιος (Greek)

Joorut (Greenlandic)

Juulut (Greenlandic)

Keoki (Hawaiian)

György (Hungarian)

Seoirse (Irish-Gaelic)

Giorgio (Italian/Venetian)

Georgius (Latin)

Jur(g)is (Latvian)

Jurgis (Lithuanian)

Gjoko Ѓок (Macedonian)

Gjorgje Ѓорѓе (Macedonian)

Gjorgji Ѓорѓи (Macedonian)

Gheevargees ഗീവര്‍ഗീസ് ( (Malayalam)

Gheevarugees ഗീവറുഗീസ് ( (Malayalam)

Varghees വര്‍ഗീസ്‌ (Malayalam)

Verghese വെര്‍ഗീസ് (Malayalam)

Varughese വറുഗീസ് (Malayalam)

Ġorġ (Maltese)

Jore (Norman)

Jørn (Norwegian)

Ørjan (Norwegian)

Jordi (Occitanian/Provençal)

Jerzy (Polish)

Jorge (Portuguese/Spanish)

Gheorghe (Romanian)

Georgy Георгий (Russian/Ukrainian)

Yuri Юрий (Russian)

Deòrsa (Scottish)

Seòrsa (Scottish)

Đorđe Ђорђе (Serbian)

Đorđo Ђорђо (Serbian)

Đurađ Ђурађ(Serbian)

Jurij (Slovene)

Göran (Swedish)

Örjan (Swedish)

Gewarges ܓܝܘܪܓܣ(Syriac)

Gorges ܓܪܓܣ (Syriac)

Yorgo (Turkish)

Heorhiy Георгій (Ukrainian)

Yur Юр (Ukrainian)

Sior (Welsh)

In ancient Greece, Georgos may have also been used as an epithet for Zeus.

In the Anglo-phone world, the name first came into usage around the 18th-century and was a popular name among British aristocracy, the most famous bearer being Lady Georgiana Spencer Cavendish (1757-1806), Duchess of Devonshire, a popular socialite and a political muse.

The name also appears in Jane Austen literary work Pride & Prejudice.

In Romania, she currently ranks in as the 10th most popular female name (2008).